WhatsApp and Instagram, both owned by Meta, experienced a global outage that affected thousands of users worldwide. The disruption began around 11:45 pm IST on Wednesday, with users unable to access the messaging service or social media platform through both the app and web browser versions.

During the outage, users attempting to log in encountered error messages indicating that the services were unavailable. Downdetector, a website that monitors internet outages, recorded a significant increase in reports from users experiencing issues with WhatsApp and Instagram.

In response to the outage, WhatsApp issued a statement acknowledging the problem and assuring users that they were working to resolve it promptly. On Instagram, users reported difficulties in refreshing their feeds or viewing the latest Stories.

This incident marks the second time this year that Meta-owned platforms have experienced a widespread outage. In March, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads were affected, leading to users being unexpectedly logged out of their accounts. Some users also faced challenges with two-factor authentication during the outage.

Overall, the outage underscores the dependence of millions of users on these communication and social media platforms and highlights the potential impact of technical disruptions on global connectivity.